APPLICANT'S ABSTRACT: The proposed ISA research has three major aims: to develop new statistical methods to better answer substantive questions in alcohol research related to the development and prevention of alcohol problems, to collaborate with alcohol researchers on advanced statistical analysis of their data, and to disseminate information on the new methods so that others in the alcohol and related fields can benefit from them. Five areas of statistics integral to the study of the development and prevention of alcohol problems will be studied: categorical and other non-normal data analysis, mixture data analysis, multilevel data analysis, missing data analysis, and longitudinal data analysis. Collaboration with researchers on the analysis of their alcohol data will involve advanced analyses of several longitudinal datasets concerned with alcohol problems. Dissemination of information on the new methods developed within the project will take place through the publication of substantively- and methodologically-oriented articles, the writing of a book, and training sessions describing these new advances. Two major types of career development and training activities are planned within the ISA: training on substantive research issues related to the development and prevention of alcohol problems and advanced statistical training. The central part of the substantive training will occur through apprentice-like relationships with a few key alcohol experts. This will be complemented by relevant substantive and statistical courses and attendance at professional meetings. REVIEW A